


The Bodyguard

by LiveLongAndLove



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Daryl is an actor, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Lori is a bitch, M/M, Misunderstandings, Past Lori Grimes/Rick Grimes, Rick Grimes Being an Idiot, Rick is a bodyguard, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-04 04:15:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14584734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLongAndLove/pseuds/LiveLongAndLove
Summary: “His name is Daryl Dixon. He’s a Tv star, so maybe you’ve heard of him before. He plays in a tv show, but is currently on a summer break. The show starts filming again in September, but until then, I need someone to make sure he stays safe.”“What happened to him, exactly?” asked Rick, curious.“He's gotten death threats, from a crazy fan most likely” Michonne replied, pushing the file towards Rick. “He doesn’t have any family left, his only brother died in jail a couple of years ago, but he has close friends. Maggie Greene, the best friend, she’s the one who called us.”-The bodyguard AU no one asked for.





	1. The Mission

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Wow, I actually am a bit shy because it's my first real work with these two. I'm usually writing Desus, but I had this bodyguard!AU idea and I actually thought it would be better as Rickyl. 
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you will like this prologue, that I just finished writing. English isn't my first language and my fictions are unbeta'd, so I'm very sorry for the possible mistakes you may find in my text. 
> 
> I don't know yet how many chapters this fiction will be as I'm just now starting it, but I already have a couple of ideas and I cannot wait to write them. Also, I have no references in bodyguards or private security whatsoever, so I hope this fiction will stay believable. 
> 
> I hope you'll like this, and do not hesitate to tell me if you did or have suggestions/critics to make! xx

Rick sighed. He was still locked up in his car, parked right in front of his ex’s big house.

 

Lori was a bitch. He hated himself for thinking about his children’s mother like this, but there was no other words for her lately. Ever since the divorce had been pronounced a few months back, Lori had fought as hard as she could to get the full custody of their children. Even though it was obvious that Judith wasn’t his -he had woken up from his seven months coma after being shot to a six month pregnant wife, he did the math pretty quickly- he loved her just as much as Carl. He had tried to make it work, even knowing that Lori had someone else and had given birth to this someone else’s child, but it hadn’t been enough. They still got divorced, and he still had to fight to see his kids.

 

Carl was seven years-old, not nearly old enough to decide for himself, and Judith was three months old only. It killed Rick to know that his children missed him as much as he missed them, but he couldn’t legally do anything about it. Lori was supposed to let him take them on the weekends every two weeks, but she had just announced him that she was now dating and living with Judith’s real father and that they needed to sort this paternity problem as soon as possible. Because of course the guy had the audacity to refuse his daughter’s visit. Which meant more legal papers, and less time with his kids until then.

 

Sighing, the tall man leaned against his car seat and closed his eyes. He couldn’t help but be hurt by Lori’s behavior, and she knew it too well. He had married her as soon as they had left high school, where they’d been together for three whole years. They had basically been together for their entire lives, and he had never in the world imagined that they’d find themselves in this situation one day. Carl and Judith were his entire world, and Lori was taking advantage of that.

 

His phone ringing snapped Rick back to reality, and he sighed. Opening his eyes and blinking his tears away, he grabbed his phone and took the call.

 

“Rick Grimes?” he said as soon as the phone was against his ear.

“Grimes?” asked the person on the other line of the phone. “You called me yesterday, asking for new job opportunities. Is it still the case?”

 

That was the other thing. Lori had told him that he wasn’t doing enough money to keep the kids, which wasn’t true, and that his job was too dangerous. He was a bodyguard, had been since he had left school and he loved his job as much as Lori loved being home and taking care of their children. But since the divorce, she was threatening him because of his job, using the seven months he spent in a coma as leverage in front of the judges.

 

“Yes, Ma’am.”

 

The woman at the other end of the line hummed thoughtfully, before speaking again.

 

“I think I have something for you, Mr Grimes” she said. “But I have to warn you, it will be hard.”

“I’ll take it” he replied as soon as she stopped talking.

“Are you sure? I can let you sleep over this, if you want.”

“There’s no need. I’ll take it.”

 

She paused, and Rick could hear a few papers being moved.

 

“Alright, Mr Grimes. I’ll text you an address, and you can come by tomorrow afternoon for a brief meeting, alright?”

 

Rick nodded, to no one in particular.

 

“Works for me. Thank you, Ma’am.”

“Please, call me Michonne” replied the woman, and he could feel her smile.

“Thank you, Michonne.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” asked Michonne. “Have a great night, Mr Grimes.”

“Good night to you too, see you tomorrow.”

 

He hang up, silence feeling the car once again. Night was falling, and the sun had disappeared behind the trees around Lori’s new house. He start up the car, driving to his shitty apartment in silence, head full of dark thoughts. He didn’t even take the time to eat something, his throat too tight to even think about swallowing any type of food, and got to bed as soon as he got home. Setting his alarm for the next day, he realized that Michonne had texted him the address and after checking the time of their meeting, he fell into a dreamless and agitated sleep.

 

The next morning, his alarm clock rang at 7, and Rick got up without much difficulty. His body was sore and he had a kink in his neck, the fight with Lori so fresh to his mind that he was still tense. He drank two cups of coffee and half-heartedly ate two biscuits to fill his belly with something. He really didn’t feel like having a real breakfast, but he knew he needed to after not eating the previous night. He had a job interview a few hours afterwards, and he really needed this job. Even if Michonne had told him it would be hard, he would do anything to get the right to see his kids.

 

After showering and putting on formal clothes, he decided to clean his apartment. He tried to keep it clean and tidy, for his kids more than for himself. He hated this place, it didn’t feel like home and it was way too big for him alone. But he tried to make it better, he had made a trip to IKEA and bought a book shelf (because Carl loved books) and a new cradle (because he still foolishly believed that he would be able to see Judith when this whole story would be settled), and he tried to light it up a bit with colors and paintings.

 

When it was finally time for him to leave, he took his car and decided to get there a little earlier and stop at a nearby Starbucks to take a coffee before his interview. He wasn’t nervous about the interview itself, after all he’d been a bodyguard for years now and he was pretty good at his job. But he was still feeling a bit uneasy, probably because of his quarrel with Lori the night before and how this job could decide if he would be able to keep the shared custody that had been decided weeks earlier.

 

He took the time to drink his coffee, watching the people passing by the shop and walking down the streets. Some were alone, lost in their thoughts or focused on their music, some were with other people. He watched a couple walk past the shop, hand in hand, and sighed. With this entire divorce story, he did not even remember spending moments like this with Lori. Truth was, she had always been a little shy with public displays of affections, and he had never really insisted. Their relationship had been great, for many years, but he knew deep down that it could have been better. From the moment they had Carl, neither of them really took time for each other and they had fallen into a sort of routine that worked for the both of them, slowly loosing their feelings for each other. Rick had fought for their relationship to get better, at the end, but it had been dead for years. 

When it was finally time for the interview, Rick sighed and threw away his empty cup, walking to the building in which he was taking the interview. He entered it and found the waiting room pretty quickly and there he was greeted by a smiling blonde who stared at him with a barely disguised smirk.

 

“Mr Grimes?” she finally said after a pregnant pause.

“That’s me” Rick replied, a little uneasy.

 

He wasn’t used to such an intense staring, and both were completely alone in the room.

 

“Michonne is waiting for you” she finally said, mentioning to the door next to her desk. “You can go in now.”

“Thank you” he replied, nodding.

“Jessie” she added. “You can call me Jessie.”

 

He gave her the most polite smile he could offer her before knocking on the door, entering Michonne’s office. She got up when he closed the door behind him, offering her hand to shake. She then mentioned for him to sit down and they both got comfortable on their chairs. Clearing her throat, Michonne got straight to the point.

 

“I have to tell you” she started, grabbing a file and opening it in front of Rick’s eyes. “This person I want you to protect? He’s a real piece of work.”

 

Rick smiled.

 

“Yeah, I’ve had this kind before” he replied. “Let me guess… he thinks he can take care of himself and doesn’t want our help at all?”

Michonne nodded. “Precisely.”

 

She paused, looking at one of the paper on the file in front of her with a thoughtful expression, before looking up at Rick.

 

“His name is Daryl Dixon. He’s a Tv star, so maybe you’ve heard of him before. He plays in a Tv show, but he is currently on a summer break. The show starts filming again in September, but until then, I need someone to make sure he stays safe.”

“What happened to him, exactly?” asked Rick, curious.

 

He wasn’t a big Tv fan, he occasionally watched a few games when he had nothing better to do but he preferred going to the movies and eventually reading at night. Most of the time, he was so tired when he got home after work that he was heading straight to bed, anyway. Nevertheless, he had heard about this man before. The Tv show he was playing in, _Chase the Living_ , was a big hit in the US and all over the world. He had never found the time to watch it, but he knew Lori used to watch it when he was at work, the DVDs often abandoned on the coffee table near the couch. 

 

“He's gotten death threats, from a crazy fan most likely” Michonne replied, pushing the file towards Rick. “He doesn’t have any family left, his only brother died in jail a couple of years ago, but he has close friends. Maggie Greene, her best friend, she’s the one who called us.”

 

She mentioned to Maggie’s picture on the file, and Rick nodded.

 

“She’s worried about him. As I told you, he’s a real piece of work. He doesn’t accept anyone’s help, and the last guy I sent quit before the end of the week.” She sighed, leaning back into her chair. “This is why I called you. When you called us a week ago, asking us if we needed someone urgently, I knew I would call you back soon.”

 

Rick tried hard not to smile, but he knew he was failing when Michonne’s smirk mirrored his own.

 

“Is there anything else I should know about him?” he asked, focusing on the file in front of him again.

“I take that you accept the job, then?” said Michonne, looking satisfied with his answer. “Well, not much. He lives in a house near Atlanta, it’s not too big nor too small. There are no back entries and only one way to get inside if you don’t count the windows as proper doors, and he’s got an alarm system already.”

 

Rick frowned.

 

“Then why does he need us?”

“As I told you before, his friends are worried about him” replied Michonne with a shrug. “I was skeptical too, but right before my other man quit three days ago, the death threats started again. This time, the person sending the letters and packages knew he had a bodyguard, yet he still got the nerve to get near the house and try to get inside. I don’t know if the alarm failed or if the weirdo knew something about security, but it was a close call. Tyreese couldn’t get him as he ran away pretty quickly, but it doesn’t mean that he won’t come back.”

 

On that, Rick agreed. Before deciding to be a bodyguard for a living, he had studied to be a cop in college. He had been pretty interested in criminal psychology, and he knew for sure that the person obsessed with Daryl Dixon would come back as soon as he’d get the chance. Even if Daryl didn’t think he was in need of a bodyguard, his friends were right to worry about him.

 

“I agree” he finally said, closing the file.

“Do you still want to work for us then?” Michonne asked, hopeful.

“Totally.”

 

Her smile was contagious, and he gladly took the hand she was offering him, shaking it firmly.

 

“Well then, Mr Grimes, it’s been a pleasure.”

“Same here, Michonne. Thank you for the opportunity.” He replied, his shoulders already relaxing at the thought of a new job to do.

  
He hated staying at home, alone with his thoughts and away from his kids.

 

“Thanks to you for agreeing” replied Michonne. “You are expected at Mr Dixon’s house tomorrow at 8. The address and all the informations that you need to know are inside the files, but please do not hesitate to call me if anything goes wrong.”

“Sure will. Thank you, Michonne.”

 

He left her office with a smile, ignoring Jessie’s heated looks on the way back to his car. Once he was inside his vehicle, he took a longer look at the file and the informations inside, flipping through the pages slowly. There was no pictures of Daryl Dixon inside, but he could easily find one on the internet once he’d get home. Nevertheless, he already knew that Michonne had not warned him for nothing; the young man already had been arrested a few times in the past and was known for his attitude towards paparazzi. Rick had never liked them, had never found the interest in taking pictures of celebrities to sell them to magazines and had never liked the way they exposed people’s lives and privacy. They looked very interested in Daryl Dixon and his tumultuous past, and maybe it would do the young man some good to have someone to protect him from them and the weirdo harassing him. 

 

Sighing, he closed the file and placed it on the passenger seat of his car. He had the feeling that this mission would be action-packed from start to finish.


	2. First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning, Rick was standing in front of Daryl Dixon’s house at 7:50am. When Michonne had mentioned a house, he had imagined a big, designer one with a lot of windows and screaming money and fame.   
> But the two-story house was rather small and discrete, much to the man’s surprise. It looked like any other houses around Atlanta, except for the fact that it was almost entirely surrounded by woods and had no direct neighborhood.
> 
> Daryl Dixon was a mystery, and Rick didn’t know what to expect from the man. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! It's me again, and this time with a real chapter (the first one was a kind of prologue, that was 2500 words only so it was quite short). And WOW!!! Thank you so much for your feedback, guys I was so honored to get that many comments. You're all so adorable, thank you so much!
> 
> It's my first time writing Rickyl, and I really hope I'm doing the characters justice even if it's an AU.   
> Also, English isn't my first language, so don't hesitate to tell me if there are too many mistakes in my text. 
> 
> I hope you'll like this!! x

The next morning, Rick was standing in front of Daryl Dixon’s house at 7:50am. When Michonne had mentioned a house, he had imagined a big, designer one with a lot of windows and screaming money and fame. But the two-story house was rather small and discrete, much to the man’s surprise. It looked like any other houses around Atlanta, except for the fact that it was almost entirely surrounded by woods and had no direct neighborhood. The place was so quiet Rick almost felt jealous of the lack of traffic, always making him frown early in the morning when he did not have to get up to go to work.   


After taking a look at the outside of the house -counting the windows, looking at the little path leading to a big garage on the other side of the house and analyzing the surrounding area- Rick knocked on the door. He did not have to wait too long, as soon the door opened on a beautiful woman that smiled widely when her eyes landed on him. 

 

“Rick Grimes, I assume?” she said, offering her hand to shake and opening the door wider for him to come inside. 

 

He got inside, wiping his shoes on the doormat. 

 

“That’s me, ma’am” Rick replied, eyes analyzing carefully the room in which he had just stepped in. 

“Please call me Maggie. Come on in, you can sit on the couch, I’m just gonna get my fiancé.” 

 

She invited him to walk towards the living-room, and Rick sat on the brown couch in the middle of the vast space. The room was cosy, and Rick had to admit that he was quite surprised with what he saw. He had googled Daryl Dixon the night before, after the interview. The man had quite a tumultuous past, and although he had never been arrested like his older brother, he had been sued a couple of time by diverse paparazzi. Some of them claimed that he had been verbally violent towards them, others talked about a broken camera. Other than that he had found several articles linking Daryl to diverse associations, from children’s hospitals to shelters, and hundred of pictures of the man during charity events. Daryl Dixon was a mystery, and Rick didn’t know what to expect from the man. 

So the inside of the house was quite surprising to the bodyguard, mostly because of the decorations. The walls were painted beige, one of them looked like a real stone wall with its beautiful shades of orange and brown, and Rick also noted the exposed beams on the ceiling. The walls were decorated with various pictures of different people, paintings and a few objects that looked like they were brought and collected from foreign countries. He noted the big crossbow hanging over the chimney on the opposite side of the tv, impressed, and the colorful poncho hanging on the hook by the door. At the far end of the room, a wooden staircase with metal railings led to a mezzanine that was partially hidden bya screen, probably leading to other rooms. 

 

The decoration totally clashed with the orignal loft-style of the construction, but Rick absolutely loved it. The inside of the house, or at least the living room, looked like Daryl had turned the spacious architectural space into a hunter’s cabin and Rick immediately felt more at ease. He didn’t know what he was expecting, really, but he had foolishly pictured a vast and cold room, deprived from pictures or decorations and built by a renowned constructor. While the loft pattern was still visible, the owner of the house had mixed it with his rough style and it looked stunning. Daryl Dixon really was a wonder, and Rick felt like it wouldn’t be the first time that he’d be surprised by the man. 

 

The sound of Maggie’s heels resonating against the wooden floor snapped Rick back to reality and he adverted his gaze, looking up at the woman and her fiancé coming down the stairs. Maggie Greene looked young, she mustn’t have been more than twenty-five, and her fiancé didn’t look much older. Both had a confident body language, walking straight up to him and holding his gaze without blinking. Rick liked them immediately, and smiled a little when they sat on the second couch in front of him. He noticed the way they were cornering him, surely on purpose, and refrained himself from smiling even wider at their defending gesture. Right in front of him were sitting two persons very concerned with their best friend’s well being, and he could only admire that.   


“I guess Michonne told you about this entire case already” started Maggie, her tone firm and challenging. 

“She did, yes” replied Rick, easing the tension off his shoulders with a tiny movement of his head. 

 

He did not want to be seen as a menacing figure, and he could feel from Maggie’s looks that she wanted to test him herself before introducing him to her friend, no matter what Michonne had told them about him before his arrival. 

 

“Then you know that Daryl’s a real piece of work” interrupted her fiancé, sighing.  


He nodded, turning his gaze to the man. 

 

“I’m sorry, we haven’t officially met” he said, offering his hand. “I’m Glenn, Glenn Rhee.”

“Rick Grimes” the bodyguard introduced himself, shaking Glenn’s hand. “But of course, you already knew that.” 

 

The ghost of a smile found its way on Glenn’s face, and Maggie seemed to relax a little. 

 

“It’s true, though” she added, looking tired all of a sudden. “Daryl’s an angel, he truly is. But he can be an asshole, and he’s decided against this whole security thing. He’ll do anything in his power to make you leave, just like he did with the other guy.” 

 

Rick nodded.   


“Michonne already warned me against that. I know what it’s like, to be unwanted” he said with a smile. “I know it’s not fun to have someone following your every steps all the time, too. But it’s for his own good, and I hope we will discover who’s sending him the packages soon enough, so that Daryl can find his peace again.”

 

Maggie looked satisfied with his answer, if her smile was anything to go buy. She nodded eagerly, looking at her fiancé before looking back at Rick.   


“Alright, that’s all I wanted to hear. I’m gonna get Daryl now, okay?” 

“Works for me” replied Rick. “I’ll have a few questions to ask to the three of you together, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’ll be right back.”   


She left the room, leaving Rick with her fiancé. Glenn looked lost in his thoughts, and he sighed deeply. 

 

“I know it’s not going to be easy for the two of you” he finally said, looking up at the bodyguard. “But I really hope we’ll make this work. We’re worried about him. The last package was an animal’s heart wrapped in candies, what kind of fucked up person does that anyway?”   


He sighed again, running a trembling hand though his hair. 

 

“He’s Maggie’s best friend, which means he’s mine, too. And we’ve known each other for years now.” he stopped, unsure. “I just really hope we’re gonna make this entire thing work.”   


The look of despair and profound worry on the younger man’s face twisted Rick’s guts. He knew what it was like, to have friends he considered as family. Before the divorce, he had a best friend, Shane. They had attended the same private security school together, had graduated together and had worked for years together. They were always stuck together, Lori and him often invited Shane to dinner and Carl considered him as an uncle. He had truly loved the man like a brother for years, he would have given his life for him in a heartbeat… until the day he had discovered that his wife was cheating on him with Shane. He did not remember feeling this betrayed in his entire life, sure his relationship with Lori had problems in the past but he had never imagined this. And it had taken him months to realize that he had felt more betrayed and angered with Shane than he had been with Lori, which had hurt even more. 

 

But Rick Grimes was not the type of person to lost faith in humanity, nor friendship. Glenn and Maggie’s concern for their friend was obvious, and the man couldn’t help but feel his own heart break a little for the two of them. 

 

“I’ll do everything in my power to make it work, and catch that psycho as soon as possible” finally said Rick with a small smile. 

 

Glenn smiled as well, but before he could answer Maggie was back, heels clicking against the floor in a now almost familiar way to the bodyguard. Everyone had their own body language, very revealing of their personality most of the time. And Rick felt like he had already discovered a little part of Maggie Greene's. He looked up, straightening his back and clearing his throat, and found himself facing the bluest pair of eyes he had ever seen in his life. 

 

Of course he had googled Daryl Dixon the night before, and knew what the man looked like. But nothing had prepared him to find himself facing such a persona. Daryl was tall, almost as tall as him (and he was 5'10, not the smallest person out there) but his broad and muscular shoulders made him look way more imposing. He was wearing a plain grey shirt and loose black jeans, hanging low on his hips and revealing just a tiny bit of skin on his lower stomach. His hair was sticking everywhere like he'd just woken up, hiding half of his face and his piercing blue eyes were looking straight at him. Rick was not easily taken aback, especially by people, but he felt nailed to his seat on the couch under Daryl's eyes. 

 

"Daryl, this is Rick Grimes" said Maggie, interrupting the two men's gaze contest. "He's gonna be in charge of your security from now on." 

 

Daryl grumbled something under his breath, but he sat right between Glenn and Maggie on the couch anyway. Rick noticed that the man was hiding his hands inside his sleeves, nervously playing with the fabric while he looked straight at him, like he was evaluating the man and his capacities. 

 

"Told ya I didn't want an escort" finally said the man, his gruff voice breaking the silence.

 

Maggie rolled his eyes and shifted a little to face Daryl. 

 

"And I told you before that I didn't want to find you dead somewhere in this house or in the woods when we come to see you" she replied, voice harsh and tone flat. 

 

Daryl looked like he wanted to say something but he decided against it, looking down at his hands still fidgeting with his sleeves. He took a deep breath, before speaking again. 

 

"So you're gonna live here for a while, or what?" he asked, and Rick realized after a short silence that he was talking to him. 

"Yes, if you have a spare room it would be best for me to live here for now, until we find the author of the threats" replied the bodyguard with a nod. 

 

Glenn and Maggie looked pleased with the answers, but the same thing couldn't be said about Daryl. He froze, before frowning. 

 

"And you think yer gonna find him?" he asked, bitter. 

 

Rick was fascinated by his accent and tone. The man acted like a redneck, yet his entire house and clothing screamed a very different story. Although he looked agressive and grumpy, he was obviously very shy and the few tics that Rick had already noticed revealed a reserved person. He was very different from what Rick had imagined at first, and he didn't really know what to think about him yet as he looked like a very hard person to read. 

 

"I'm counting on it" replied Rick with a shrug. "Before private security, I was a cop. And I'm not the only one on this case, anyway. I will be the one staying with you, but Michonne's agency is investigating as well." 

"We already alerted the authorities as well" interrupted Glenn with a nod. "We're trying to stay quiet about this whole affair because of the paps, but we alerted the police and filed a complaint as well." 

Daryl rolled his eyes. "I told you already. It's nothing. Probably some creep, but he's gonna get tired before we do." 

 

Looking between the three of them, Rick frowned. He could clearly feel Glenn and Maggie's worries and although he had no doubts that Daryl could feel it too, the man stayed stubborn. The young man's affection for his friends was clear and was bleeding through his little glances and attentions but he didn't look ready to give up his independence for them. 

 

"I really don't think so" replied Rick. "I've studied criminal behavior before, and this man's clearly obsessed with you Mr Dixon." 

"Don't call me Mr. Dixon," replied the redneck as soon as Rick had stopped talking, his shoulder tensing. "Mr. Dixon was my dad. I'm Daryl." 

 

Rick noticed how Maggie automatically reached for his friend, grabbing one of his hand. 

 

"Sorry. Daryl" said Rick automatically, noting that the man's father looked like a subject to avoid. 

"It's alright" finally said Daryl after a small silence. "It's just… I don't really know if we should be that worried about the threats" he sighed. "It's just letters, and a box with a rabbit's heart. I haven't received a human body part, you know?" 

"It doesn't mean anything" replied Rick with a small smile. He wanted to argue that the heart was already a pretty big step, but he felt like Daryl would be stubborn about this anyway. "The fact that this man managed to come this far while you were under surveillance… It doesn't look good, because this kind of obsessive behavior won't stop suddenly, it will only increase until the moment he finally manages to get to you."

 

Maggie bit her lower lip, her hand tightening on Daryl's. Glenn and her shared a look above Daryl's shoulder, although Rick was pretty sure that the young man had caught their eyes at some point as he sighed, giving up for the time being. 

 

"Anyway" Daryl said, "Maggie told me you wanted to ask us a few questions?" 

  
His friend gave him a look that screamed 'be nice' and he shrugged in response. 

 

"Yes, indeed. I need to ask you a few questions to make sure that the creep harassing you isn't someone you know or that you've known before, maybe with your job or just at public events. You are in contact with a lot of people, which makes it even more difficult for me to narrow my range of action." 

 

Although he frowned at the idea that it could be someone he had trusted once in his life, Daryl said nothing. A silence filled the room when Rick opened his backpack and took out a notebook to be able to write down Daryl's answers. 

 

"Alright, Daryl. Let's start with the obvious, do you have any ennemies?" Rick asked, preparing his mechanical pencil. 

 

Daryl snorted out loud at the question. 

 

"Are you kidding? I've got dozens of them." He replied, rolling his eyes. "We could start with the paps, especially with the camera I broke a few years back." 

"Do you remember the name of the guy you broke it to?" asked Rick. 

"Yeah, Milton Mamet. He's been in the pap business for years now, and he's one of the worst. I broke his camera because he had taken pics of my friend's kid, Sophia, without her consent. I offered him a shit ton of money to delete the pic, which had no interest whatsoever for him, and he refused. Wanted to sell the pic and get them published you know." 

 

He stopped, sighing. 

 

"Carol's my agent" he kept on, "and she had a messy divorce. Her husband used to be violent with her and her little girl, and I didn't want Sophia to be visible like this. What she definitely don't need is her father seeing her in a people's magazine and finding her after them moving several times to stay away from him." 

 

Rick's hand froze on top of his page. He had never really thought about the reason why Daryl would be violent to the point of breaking someone's camera, but he had never once imagined something like this. Once again, Daryl Dixon was surprising him. 

 

"Alright, I'll hold that name and check it first" he finally said. "Anyone else?"

 

Daryl shrugged, but Rick noticed that Glenn frowned, looking at Maggie. 

 

"Well there is someone" finally said the man, everyone in the room turning their heads around to look at him. "Even if Daryl probably won't agree with me." 

 

The other man looked skeptical, waiting for his friend to keep going. 

 

"Spencer" said Glenn, and almost immediately Daryl's entire body tense. "You know he was obsessed with you back in the days, what tells you he isn't coming back to his old obsessions?"

 

Maggie seemed to agree with her fiancé, and Rick took this opportunity to grab their attention. 

 

"Who's Spencer?" he asked. 

"His full name's Spencer Monroe. He's a film director" replied Maggie quickly, preventing Daryl from answering. "He wanted to make a movie with Daryl, a couple years back. But he was completely obsessed with him, and eventually Daryl turned down the offer." 

"My schedule wasn't allowing the shooting either" said Daryl with a frown. "It wasn't entirely his behavior that made me refuse. I'm shooting a show, I can't just leave the state and shoot somewhere else, cutting my hair and changing my style between sets." 

 

Once again, the couple and Daryl seemed to disagree. Rick could already feel that they were very different and had very different opinion on many things, which made things even more complicated for him. Yet, their friendship looked very strong, and he knew how differences could bring people together in the most amazing ways. From what he had seen yet, Glenn and Maggie were very present for Daryl no matter how lonely the redneck looked at first. If his home and the way he acted in his friend's presence were a good representation of his personality, Daryl had a golden heart that he hid thoughtfully behind a savage look. 

 

"It doesn't matter what happened" interrupted Maggie with a frown. "The fact is, Spencer was creepy. And completely obsessed by you." 

"I'm gonna send someone to check his alibi" replied Rick with a nod, trying to cut the debate and the growing tension short. "Anyone else?" 

 

Daryl and Maggie gave him a couple of other names, but nothing as alarming or as Milton and Spencer to Rick's eyes. He noted them all on his notebook anyway, with a couple more informations given by Glenn. The young man was in charged of Daryl's contacts list and accounts, which surprised Rick a little. Daryl looked capable enough to take care of himself and his relationships, yet he trusted his friends to do it for him. Rick felt like Daryl's entourage was very protective of him, and not only because of his fame but also because their friendship ran deeper than he had originally thought. From what he had searched, Daryl had no family left, and his friends were his only close family. 

 

"I think we're all set with this for now" said Rick, turning the page of his notebook. "Now, I'm gonna ask you about your close friends and entourage."

"Why?" asked Daryl as soon as the last word escaped Rick's lips. 

 

He had grown tense as well, and the bodyguard noticed that the man was often on his guard. Rick wasn't a psychologist, but he could recognize a traumatized person when he was seeing one. He couldn't just ask Daryl straight away what had caused his aggressivity and what he had lived through during his childhood or young years, so he would have to be patient. He would probably discover what had caused Daryl's reactions, eventually. He wasn't welcomed in Daryl's life because of his profession, but he would do what was in his power to change this fact, and get to know the young man better. There was no point in hating each other if they were to stay by each other's side for weeks. 

 

"Because I need to be able to know the people who come here and see you" explained Rick slowly. "I need to know a few basic things about them, to be able to cross them from my suspects list." 

"If they're my friends, they ain't suspects" groaned Daryl, straightening his back. 

"Daryl" interrupted Maggie with a soft voice. "Please, be nice." 

"I am nice" replied the redneck. "I just don't see why any of my friends need to be checked. It's not like you're investigating all my life, right? You're here to protect me." 

"But I need to be able to know, at least a little, the people around you. It's part of the job, Daryl." 

 

The young man gritted his teeth, trying to bite back the need to reply something he would probably regret later.

 

"Alright" he finally sighed. 

"Do you have a lot of visits when you're not on set, or when you're on break like presently?" asked Rick again, ready to take notes. 

"I have Glenn, and Maggie. They're here a lot, they have a spare key too. Carol, my manager, often comes with her daughter Sophia" he paused, lost in his thoughts. "Paul comes here often, too."

"Paul?"

"Yeah, Paul Rovia" shrugged the younger man. "We used to work together. He's a good friend of mine. You can google him or whatever, if you want. He'll come by often while you're here, too." 

 

Rick could feel that there was something else Daryl wasn't telling him about Paul, but he didn't push further. Behind Daryl, Maggie and Glenn exchanged a look.

 

"Anyone else?" asked Rick, drawing a question mark next to Paul's name. 

"Not that I can think of" Daryl replied. "I see a lot of persons at work, you know. But you will be able to talk to them, as you're probably gonna follow me to my script readings and cast-mates dinner, I suppose." 

 

He didn't look pleased with the idea, but Rick counted this admission as a win. While he was not wanted, Daryl had already made peace with the idea of Rick following him around. 

 

"Alright" conceded Rick. "This is all I needed to know for now. I'll probably ask you a few things along the way, but we'll see when we get there." 

 

Daryl looked relieved with his answer, and his shoulders relaxed a little bit. He nodded at Glenn, then Maggie, before getting up. 

 

"Maggie'll show you where you'll be staying" he said, not looking at Rick in the eyes. "I'm gonna go, now. I have lines to learn and sleep to catch on."

 

He bent over to kiss Maggie on the cheek, nodding at Glenn one more time before climbing up the stairs and disappearing behind one of the wooden panels hiding the mezzanine from their view. Rick gaze followed him until he disappeared completely, and he caught Glenn's eyes when he looked back at him. The shorter man sighed, resigned. 

 

"That's about as much socialisation as he can do in such a short time" he said, excusing his friend. "He's not… well he's not very talkative at first. But he's a sweet guy, you have to believe me. He's just very private, and he hates this entire situation as much as we do." 

 

Maggie smiled; getting up as well and mentioning for Rick to do the same. 

 

"I'll show you your room. It's not far from Daryl's upstairs, but you'll both have the privacy you need." She waited for Rick to gather his bag "you will have your own bathroom too, so you don't have to worry about anyone barging in."

  
Once he had his bag in hand, she mentioned at the small open entry under the staircase, leading to another room and covered with glass sliding door.

 

"This is the kitchen. I suppose I don't need to show it to you, you can cook whatever you want if you and Daryl don't eat together. Don't hesitate to ask me if you have a special diet, or something like that." 

 

He shook his head. 

 

"I'll do with what you have, don't worry about that. Thank you, though." 

"Alright. Let's head upstairs, shall we?" 

 

They got up the stairs, and Rick was surprised to see that the big loft was actually well organized for everyone's privacy. When lofts were often open and separated with thin bulkheads or curtains, Daryl had constructed a few walls and separated the mezzanine area into two distincts parts, separated by a small corridor that couldn't be longer than 9 feet long. 

 

"I thought this was a loft" Rick began, curious. "But there are a lot of doors and separations. Was it like this when Daryl got the house?" 

  
Maggie smiled, visibly glad that he had asked. 

 

"It wasn't" she replied. "It was usually made for one person, or a couple. You've noticed how tiny the house is, from the outside, especially for a loft-style house. There were nothing but a mezzanine and a ground floor when Daryl bought it, and he decided to close the kitchen with a sliding door mostly because of the smell traveling through the big space and into the upstairs rooms, and to make two big bedrooms in here" she mentioned at the two separate spaces on the mezzanine. "He likes to have friends over, and they often stay in the guest room when they want to. As there is a private bathroom neighboring each bedroom, it's a small private place for each person, just the way Daryl likes." 

 

Rick nodded, impressed. He really felt comfortable in the house, and he had no doubts that he would feel the same in the bedroom.

 

"This is actually quite clever" he muttered, looking around. "And beautifully made." 

 

There was a small space that looked like a balcony giving on the living room right before the corridor leading to the two separate rooms. Here, Rick noticed a couple of armchairs surrounding a coffee table and a standing lamp, which probably was Daryl's work place. From here, the man could learn his line while looking at the sunset through the big windows of the house and not be bothered if other people like Glenn and Maggie were in the living room or in the kitchen. 

 

"If you ever need" Maggie kept going, unaware of his ongoing analysis "there's a door right next to the main entry of the house,maybe you've seen it on the way in, and this door leads to an extra bathroom. It's kinda difficult sometimes to get upstairs and walk through the room to get into the bathroom, and this is why Daryl had one made downstairs." 

"Alright. Thank you." 

 

She then mentioned for the door on the left at the end of the small corridor. 

 

"This will be your room" she explained, opening it for him. 

 

He followed her inside, taking in his surroundings immediately. The room was like the rest of the house, sober but beautiful, and he liked it as soon as he laid eyes on it. The bedroom was brown and beige, a king size bed was taking most of the place and a soft chestnut carpeting was adding a cosy touch to the entire room. Two nightstands were disposed on each sides of the bed and adorned with small lamps, and the big windows were partially covered with thick curtains matching the carpet. He also noticed a bookshelf and a couple of other details, but his discovery was cut short by Maggie. 

 

"The bathroom is over there" she said with a wave of her hand in direction of the door at the end of the room. "If you ever need anything, I put mine and Glenn's number on a post it by the bed." 

 

He nodded his understanding, and she sighed. 

 

"I know Daryl is going to be difficult to live with" she said, looking tired all of a sudden. "But he's worth it. I know Glenn and I kept telling you this, but we know how difficult and pig headed he can be when he wants to. He doesn't like having people he doesn't know well around him, and he's going to make you understand that. But Glenn, Paul, Carol and I… We just want him safe, and I wouldn't have called you if I had thought it wasn't worth it." 

"I know that" replied the bodyguard softly. "I'm stubborn, too. And I won't let him get hurt, I can promise you that." 

 

She looked a little reassured after that, smiling back at him and nodding with gratitude.

 

"Thank you, Mr Grimes."

"Please call me Rick." 

"Thank you, Rick" she whispered. 

 

She left soon after, promising to keep him updated if anything happened on their end and to tell Glenn to send him Daryl's full list of contacts just in case. Once he was finally alone, Rick took the time to sigh and relax a little bit, sitting on the bed and closing his eyes for a couple of minutes. Maggie had told him that Daryl would most likely stay in the house for the entire day, because he stil had a lot to learn for the scenes he'd shoot when he'd get back to work in a couple of weeks. Knowing that his client would stay in for a major part of the day, it left Rick some time for himself and to do start doing his job. 

 

The house was rather small and had only a few access, which was a good thing as it was too much troubles for one bodyguard to keep multiple entries, and most of the windows were sealed. The main problem was the trees. They surrounded the house, offering an easy way for the creep to hide and watch inside the house as much as he pleased. There was no way they could cut down all the forest, so Rick would have to find another way to prevent the man from getting near the house. He had asked Maggie who had a spare key, but he would need to make sure that none of Daryl's employees -maybe the cleaning lady or the gardener- had lost their spare or used it inappropriately. He needed to check the alarm system as well, because it obviously didn't work a few nights back when the man had entered the house to get to Daryl. Maybe the creep was working for the alarm company, or knew how to turn it off easily? He would also have to check Daryl's planning for the following weeks, and stick with him every time he was going out. 

 

Putting his iPad back on the bed after writing a couple of emails to Daryl's employees and checking the alarm system, Rick got up and stretched his neck, rolling his shoulders and spreading out his arms with a groan. His lack of sleep the previous days was clearly not helping the soreness of his muscles, and he needed a hot shower. A look at his phone told him that he had been here for more than three hours now as it was almost 11:30, and his stomach growled with hunger. He considered working a little more, but he really was hungry and he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else before eating something. Maggie had told him to do as he pleased in the kitchen, and while he didn't know if Daryl would eat something, he decided to go downstairs and make himself a sandwich that he would eat quickly, maybe even take back to his bedroom. 

 

When he left his room, the house was quiet. Glenn and Maggie had left, and there was no sound coming out of Daryl's bedroom. He wondered if the quiet was usual in the house or if Daryl was mad at the bodyguard situation. He supposed it was a bit of both, and he quietly found his way downstairs and headed to the kitchen. He had kept his phone with him in case anything happened or Michonne sent him a text, and he opened the sliding door just as quietly as he had crossed the rest of the house. The kitchen looked like the rest of the loft: cosy, brown, and bathed in a soft morning light. It was so different from Rick's own house, cold and white all over, that he felt much more at ease in here than back in his own apartment. That was how pathetic his life was at the moment. 

 

He opened the double doors fridge and grabbed the butter and two slices of ham, cutting a reasonable piece of bread in two and making himself a simple sandwich. He didn't feel like making himself something a little healthier as he was still walking on ice with Daryl and didn't want to make a big fancy lunch only for himself. Sitting on a chair disposed in front of the central counter, he ate in silence, looking by the window at the trees shaking with the wind.

 

"You could have eaten something else than bread and butter you know" said a voice behind him, and Rick turned around quickly, right hand finding the handle of his gun. 

 

Daryl held his hands up, a smirk on his face. His hair was messier than it had been an hour before when they had talked in the living-room, and his piercing blue eyes were surrounded by dark circles. 

 

"Don't shoot me" he said, "I don't think your boss will be happy if you do." 

 

The bodyguard sighed. He was pretty good at sensing people coming, but the man had totally surprised him. As if he was following his train of thoughts, Daryl spoke again. 

 

"Don't blame yourself, I do that to a lot of people." He was still looking proud of himself. "I'm a hunter, I sneak on people all the time. That's how it works."

"I'll keep that in mind" replied Rick, sitting down again and taking another bite off his sandwich. 

 

Daryl walked around the kitchen for a while, opening cupboards and simply arranging furnitures. He finally decided to make himself some coffee, and Rick noticed with a snort that he paid no attention to him whatsoever while drinking his cup. 

 

"I don't want you here" finally muttered the man after a long silence. 

 

He was facing the window, his back to Rick and his eyes glued to the trees Rick was watching a couple of minutes before. 

 

"I kind of noticed that" replied the bodyguard with a shrug. 

"And you don't mind?" 

"It's not my job to make you like me" said Rick. "It's my job to protect you." 

 

Daryl groaned something under his breath. 

 

"Of course you would be the dedicated asshole kind" he finally said, turning around to look at Rick in the eyes. 

"One could say that, yeah."

 

The tension in the room was thick and Rick would have felt uneasy under Daryl's strong gaze if he had been a couple of years younger. But he was used to threats, and he had been shot for christ's sake, so Daryl Dixon wouldn't be the one making him look away first. 

 

"And it has nothing to do with me, or who I am?" asked Daryl, eyes still shooting daggers. 

 

Rick shrugged. 

 

"I've never seen your movies, or your tv show. I told you before, it's my job to protect you, not to like you." 

 

This time, Rick could see that Daryl was truly taken aback by the revelation. It was true that his tv show was pretty popular, and Rick himself knew a couple of people who watched it. He remembered Shane telling him about the plot, making him watch a couple of trailers before dropping the subject when he had understood that Rick wouldn't watch it no matter how hard he tried. He also knew that Lori loved it, too. But he had never started it, and he simply didn't have time to watch shows with his job. 

 

"You've never watched _Chase the Living_?" asked the man again, blue eyes shining with amusement.

"What, is it a deal breaker?" he asked with irony. 

 

Daryl didn't look like a man full of himself, and he truly look genuinely surprised by this revelation. 

 

"No. I don't care what you think of me" finally said the redneck. "It doesn't matter what you think of this place, or what you think of my friends and me. Hopefully, you'll be gone soon and the creep will be caught. But I have to tell you, as much as you love your job and want to do it right, there is no way you'll change my schedules, meetings and interrogate all my friends when I spend time with them. I don't want to put my life on hold just because someone decided to threaten me. I like my freedom, and nothing will change that." 

 

The bodyguard could feel that Daryl was not lying when he said that he liked his freedom. The man's temper bled through his entire house, full of wooden surfaces and surrounded by a forest, and he knew that it would make his entire job even more difficult than with anyone else. 

 

"I'm not asking you to put your life on hold" replied Rick simply. "I just need you to let me keep watch on you while you keep going with your life."

 

A long silence followed Rick's words and finally, putting his empty cup in the dishing mashing, Daryl nodded. 

 

"Yeah. We'll see about that." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'll try as hard as I can to update this story on Wednesdays but I can't promise anything as I'm working every day since I'm on break in college, and I'm leaving for a week in Germany in two days. But I swear, I'm gonna try!)


	3. The Agent and the Little Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick sighed, leaning back in the comfy brown couch and taking a sip of coffee. He was alone in the living room after eating a quick lunch, and enjoying the almost complete silence in the room, only disturbed by the sound of the wind shaking the trees outside. 
> 
> Daryl had warned him that he was expecting guests in a few minutes, kindly but coldly asking Rick not to interrogate them like criminals when they would get there, before heading back to his room to change his shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I'm so sorry for the delay, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with the one chapter/week rhythm but I never imagined that I'd be late this soon... :( i'll do everything in my power to be able to post a bit more, promise.
> 
> Anyway! As always, english isn't my first language and I hope my mistakes aren't too horrible. (Also, I suck at summaries and chapter names, too. Sorry.) 
> 
> I hope you'll like it anyway! x

A week later, Rick felt like he already knew Daryl Dixon's habits by heart. Yet, the man himself was still a mystery left to solve. 

 

Daryl wasn't a very talkative person, at all. They had somehow found a silent agreement on the way they'd eat dinner -in front of the tv, on the couch, and at 8pm sharp- but it was about the only interactions that they had daily. After making Rick understand that he wasn't welcomed in his house and by his side, Daryl hadn't initiated any conversation with the bodyguard. Rick always was on the one making the first step, but he didn't mind for the slightest. As he had told Daryl, it was not his job to be loved but it was his job to protect him. 

 

He had seen Maggie and Glenn again the night before, as they came to check on Daryl and probably to make sure that the two men had not killed each other off yet. Rick had seen how content Maggie was of this situation and the agreement they had found, and it was enough for him. It looked enough for Daryl, too, because the redneck had shyly smiled at his friends when they had voiced their happiness about them finally getting along. Rick supposed that a small lie had never killed anybody, so he played his part. Not long after their arrival they'd left to visit Maggie's father, and silence had fallen on the two men once again. 

 

They were used to watch tv together at night now, and Rick was quite reluctant to admit that he was getting pretty interested in a lot of shows that Daryl watched. He had never found interest in watching a screen for hours before without doing anything really productive, but Daryl had a Netflix account and the variety of movies and shows available had blown his mind when he had first logged in. Three days after his arrival, they were already finishing the first season of _Supernatural_ , and Rick was hooked. The bright side was that it also made the job easier for him, to stay with Daryl for such a long time at night. The freak trying to reach the actor had operated at night the last few times he had made a move, and he could not do anything as long as Daryl stayed in the living room with his bodyguard. 

 

Much to Daryl's anger, Rick had asked the man to put cameras on the entries, and outside his bedroom windows. It had not been an easy affair to get Daryl to cooperate, but Maggie and Glenn had been of much needed help and eventually, he had placed his camera system the way he wanted. For a famous actor, Daryl was not really careful with his security, and did not like to be reminded of that fact. But Rick had gained his cooperation with the cameras, and it was all that mattered to him. He had linked the camera system to the computer turned on 24/7 in his room, recording every move in the house at the exception of Daryl's bedroom, Rick's, and the bathrooms and toilets. When Daryl had seen no point in putting a camera inside the living-room and the kitchen, Rick had explained thoughtfully how easy it was for an experienced person to get inside the house by the windows, and not being seen especially in such a vaste space. Eventually, Rick had gained Daryl's permission for this too, and the entire house was more secured than ever. 

 

Yet Daryl still didn't like it. 

 

But Rick was satisfied. At least for the time being.

 

He had kept Michonne updated daily, sending her an email right before going to bed every night; and when he didn't talk about Daryl's private life and other useless facts to his employer, he did talk about the new security system and sent her the videos of each days in a joined file. Michonne was satisfied with his work, and it was all that mattered to Rick. He had not heard from Lori again, no even after his countless messages to her and the few voicemails he had left on her phone, and he couldn't wait for her to pick the phone when he called or simply message him back. She would have to, eventually. And he would be able to proudly tell her that he had found another job, this time way better paid than the previous one; and that he was ready to fight for his kids. When he had never been one for fighting with her, always avoiding fights and always agreeing with her through the years of their marriage, he could not let his kids down this time. Especially since she had the nerves to refuse to let him speak to his kids over the phone, and had moved in with Shane as soon as they had signed the divorce papers.

 

-

 

Rick sighed, leaning back in the comfy brown couch and taking a sip of coffee. He was alone in the living room after eating a quick lunch, and enjoying the almost complete silence in the room, only disturbed by the sound of the wind shaking the trees outside. It had been a while since he had the time to relax fully and even if it was just a couple of stolen minutes, he really enjoyed it. 

 

Daryl had warned him that he was expecting guests in a few minutes, kindly but coldly asking Rick not to interrogate them like criminals when they would get there, before heading back to his room to change his shirt. While Rick already had a few questions in mind, he could understand that jumping on someone to ask if they had bad intentions towards their friends was a little bit too aggressive. He would simply stay in the living-room to watch them from afar eventually, but he had no intentions to stay with them all afternoon. He had learned to stay discrete and make himself very small through the years, with his cop training and his ability to be very patient in general, and he had to do his job no matter what Daryl thought and wanted. He was not at all bothered by the redneck's silent treatment and he knew that the man himself was getting mad over that fact; knowing that the bodyguard wouldn't be leaving anytime soon even if he evidently tried to be an asshole. Rick hadn't known Tyreese personally, nor did he work with him in the past, but Michonne had told him several times through the passing days that he was a very kind and outgoing person. Surely Daryl had hit his mark when he had decided not to speak to him for days, and it had been too much to bear for the bodyguard. But it wouldn't be the same for him. Because he was as stubborn as Daryl was, and because he desperately needed the job. 

 

Rick was shaken back to reality when the doorbell rang, and he got up as soon as he heard Daryl come out of his room. The younger man walked down the stairs without a glance towards him, and opened the door without checking who it was through the peephole. Rick gritted his teeth but said nothing, knowing that it would only add to the already tense atmosphere in the room. Still, it was very dangerous, and he would definitely have to have a word with him about this.

 

"Uncle Daryl!" yelled a little girl as soon as the door was opened wide enough to allow her in, jumping right in Daryl's arms. 

 

The redneck laughed, a real throaty laugh that reverberated inside the living room as he scooped the little girl in his arms and secured her on his hip. He pressed a kiss on her nose and the little girl blushed all the way down her chest. 

 

"Hey yourself" he replied with a soft smile, her big eyes still fixated on him. 

 

He gestured for the woman still standing on the doorframe -possibly the little girl's mom, as they looked astonishingly alike- to come inside and closed the door behind them. Only then did the two girls seemed to notice Rick's presence, and the mother smiled. 

 

"Oh, hi! I'm Carol, Daryl's agent, and occasional best friend." Rick shook her offered hand and she gestured at the little girl still secured in Daryl's arms "and this is Sophia, my daughter. You're Rick, right? I've heard a lot about you." 

 

The woman looked confident and nice, and it was enough to make Rick smile. He didn't know if the "heard about you" part of the sentence was a good thing given Daryl's ability to try to kill him with a glare, but Carol didn't look like she hated him already. Which was a good thing, at least. 

 

"Nice to meet you Carol, Sophia. I'm Rick Grimes, Daryl's bodyguard." 

 

Hearing that, Daryl rolled his eyes. 

 

"Are you keeping uncle Daryl safe?" asked Sophia, the thumb in her mouth making it difficult for Rick to understand what she had said at first. 

"Sophia, your fingers" chastised her mother. "I already told you not to talk when you're chewing on them." 

"Sorry" said the little girl, taking her thumb out of her mouth just enough to be able to talk. "Are you keeping uncle Daryl safe?" she asked again, her big round eyes shining with hope. 

 

Rick smiled. The little girl reminded him of Carl, and he felt a pang of sadness twist his heart at the thought of his son. He pushed that feeling away quickly, nodding at Sophia with a smile that he couldn't conceal.

 

"I'm trying to, yes." 

 

It was Carol's time to smirk, amused. 

 

"And I bet Daryl makes that pretty difficult, too." 

 

Rick did not need to verbally answer, as Daryl's huff of breath gave him away. The redneck turned around and started walking towards the living room with Sophia, while Carol rolled her eyes at his childish attitude. 

 

"He's a handful, but he's a sweetheart" she told Rick with a smile. "I know he doesn't look like it, but he truly is." 

"So I've heard" replied the bodyguard, looking back at the man carefully putting Sophia on the couch and sitting down next to her. 

 

He took out his phone from his pocket and handed it to Sophia, the little girl squealing happily. They both started talking enthusiastically, and even if Rick could not properly hear what they were saying to each other, he could clearly see that Daryl was very patient and gentle with her. Rick could feel Carol staring at him from the corner of his eyes, and he turned around to face her again. 

 

"I'm gonna need to ask you a couple of questions" he said. "I'm sorry, but I need to report everything to my superior and I take this case very seriously. Nothing against you personally." 

 

Carol nodded. 

 

"There's no troubles. What do you need to know?" 

"How long have you and Daryl been friends?" he asked, mentioning for Carol to follow him in the kitchen for more privacy. The last thing he wanted was to worry Sophia, or have her asking questions if she saw them discuss together. 

 

Daryl looked up at them both when they passed by the couch on their way to the other room, visibly not happy to see that his agent was asked questions no matter the warning he had given Rick a couple of minutes before. Although he knew that Rick had to do his job, and he understood it no matter what the bodyguard thought, he didn't like seeing Carol treated as a potential suspect in this case. He had known her for years, and she had lived pretty rough things in the past and he didn't want Rick to dig through that and reopen old wounds. 

 

"I've been his agent for five years now, and we've been friends for at least seven" she replied once they were both in the privacy of the kitchen, sitting on a chair next to Rick. "He helped me, back when I still lived with my ex husband Ed. He helped me to get through the divorce, and he helped me both financially and emotionally afterwards. Daryl's a good person, he may not had the best influences when he was younger but he's very well surrounded now, by friends and family that love him and would do anything to protect him." 

 

Rick nodded thoughtfully. He had already noticed in less than a week by Daryl's side that he was surrounded by a strong group of friends, and that his friends were like family to him. He had seen the way Daryl interacted with Glenn and Maggie on the very first day, but he had also noticed how he spoke with Sophia and the way his eyes had softened when he had talked about Carol when announcing their arrival. 

 

"I don't doubt that" said the bodyguard with a nod. "But understand that I am not asking because I'm thinking you have anything to do with the packages or threats, I am just doing my job." 

"I know that" replied Carol with a kind smile. "And I know that Daryl knows it, too. He's just overprotective, that's all. Especially when it comes to Sophia and me." 

 

Rick hummed at her words. 

 

"I noticed that, yes." he sighed. "Daryl sees me as a threat, but I am not here to be one. As I told him, I am not here to be liked but I am here to do my job, and I do not want to let him down on this." 

"Daryl sees everyone as a threat" replied the woman with a chuckle, patting the bodyguard on the shoulder. "If that's of any comfort to you." 

 

Rick laughed as well, feeling his shoulders relax a little bit. Carol was really easy to talk to, and he felt more at ease with her than anyone else he'd met in the last three days. Not that Maggie or Glenn weren't nice, but Carol had that aura surrounding her and helping the bodyguard to see how she truly was. She might have been abused in the past, but there was no trace of that abused woman in the person standing in front of him in the kitchen. Her posture was hinting a very strong and confident person, ready to defend herself and her family whatever the costs. Rick respected her in a heartbeat. 

 

"Yeah, well. I'm feeling a little bit better now." he said, amused. 

"You should! You never once had to see him try to bathe Sophia when she was just two years old and determined not to wash for days. Trust me, she was the real threat at this time. And he made sure I knew it, several times a day. I don't think I've ever heard him complain that much before that day." 

 

Rick had not once, when investigating on Carol during the previous days, doubted that the woman was of any threat to Daryl Dixon. But he now realized that Carol was not just a friend to Daryl, but also a sister and an anchor that he very much needed in his life. He hadn't talked much about Merle Dixon, Daryl's deceased brother, nor did he ask anyone about Daryl's parents. Michonne had told him that Merle had taken care of Daryl for years before being arrested for selling drugs after their parent's death, but that was it. He didn't know how or when, but he had a feeling that Carol had taken a very important place in Daryl's life after Merle's death, when Daryl had found himself alone to face the rest of the world. 

 

"I'm glad that you took that job" finally said Carol. "I know it's not easy, and I know another one gave up right before you accepted to take that case. But I have a feeling that I'll see you around for a long, long time, Rick." 

 

He tried not to frown nor look defeated when she smiled at him, face filled with hope, so he shook his head. 

 

"We'll see about that. For now, I just have to ask you a couple of other questions and I'll let you go back to your daughter and Daryl." 

 

He asked her about the spare keys that Daryl gave her and mentioned a couple of days before, and asked her a couple of questions about Daryl's employees. He knew that Daryl didn't hire a lot of people, but he had to make sure that no one was escaping his radar. Carol showed him his spare key that she barely used -Daryl opened the door for her all the time, because she was barely coming when he wasn't in the house- and Rick crossed the possibility of a lost key out of his list. 

 

Afterwards, Carol provided him with more details concerning Daryl's planning. He only had one job currently, and it was in _Chase the livings_. Daryl wouldn't have to go back on set for a couple of weeks and of course it would be best for the entire production if this harasser story was settled before then. Carol took care of the press as well, ever since the incident with Sophia she was making sure that reporters didn't bother Daryl too much, and she had been the one keeping this entire story private since its beginning. Rick noticed that she had been doing a marvelous job managing Daryl's life for the last handful of years, and he had to admit that he was quite impressed by the way she managed to arrange his planning like clockwork. 

 

"I already took care of the incoming events" said Carol, handing a piece of paper to the bodyguard. "Tomorrow night, there's a charity dinner to which Daryl will be expected. I know you will have to go with him, and I already planned everything out. You will be seated next to him during the entire dinner, and I will of course provide you with the list of everyone invited. If you need back up, I wanted to ask you if you'd rather ask your employer but in case no other agents are available, the venue already proposed some of their own men."

 

Rick took the piece of paper, impressed. He knew that Carol was a strong woman, but he hadn't realized she was a real shark when it came to her job, too. 

 

"How many persons are invited?" he asked. 

"Around 70. It's not much, but it's enough to be dangerous if the creep wants to act during the dinner." Carol replied. 

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking" muttered Rick. "Do you have all the names?" 

 

Carol nodded. 

 

"It's on invite. No one will be at the dinner without being on the list. Here, I kept a copy for myself, but here is the final one."

 

He took the piece of papier she was handing him and nodded with attention, looking at a couple of names that he did not recognize. 

 

"Do you know if the building has multiple exits?" he asked again, looking at her above the paper that he was still holding. 

 

The woman smiled, visibly prepared for the question. She looked through the files in front of her and handed him a plan of the entire building, every single exit highlighted by her own hand. 

 

"I already took care of that" she said, looking smug. 

Rick whistled. "You ever thought about being a bodyguard or working in security?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Well, I definitely know how to do my job that's for sure. I know Daryl isn't the easiest person to work with but I'd do everything for him, and you gotta understand that." 

  
She paused, taking a deep breath. 

 

"And I wanna do everything I can to help you with this and help you to catch that psycho."

 

She really looked troubled, and Rick knew but too well what it was like to feel helpless and doing whatever was possible to help anyway. He had not often felt this way, but lately he felt like he was no longer in control of his life and he hated it. 

 

"Thank you, Carol" he replied with an honest smile, trying to ease her worries even for a couple of minutes. "Really." 

 

They stared at each other in silence for a handful of seconds and this time Rick was the one to break the silence. 

 

"Is there anyone I should know about on that list?" he gestured to the piece of paper in front of him. "Anyone specific, anyone who's gonna be around Daryl much during that night?"

"Well, there's Paul, but he's not a threat." 

 

The bodyguard frowned, looking at the list a little more closely. He had even investigated on Paul Rovia two days ago, when he first came to the house, and had found nothing threatening about the actor. But he wasn't even sure that Carol was talking about the right person, so he asked her directly. 

 

"Paul Rovia? The actor?" 

 

Carol nodded.

 

"Yeah, Paul and Daryl created this charity together a while back. He's gonna be there tomorrow night, too. He'll be sitting next to Daryl during the entire dinner, so you will be able to keep an eye on him if you want. But as I said, Paul is no threat." 

"They created it together?" interrupted Rick. "When I googled the charity, I never found anything involving Paul Rovia." 

"Well" sighed Carol. "It's a little bit complicated. To make it short, Paul never wanted his name to be on the official page, but they did create this society two years ago together." 

 

Rick hummed. If he found it weird, he did not push the subject further. He would eventually find the opportunity to go back to it with Daryl or even Paul during the charity dinner the day after. 

 

"We are talking about _Candles and Houses_ , right?" 

 

He had looked through all of Daryl's charities, out of curiosity more than anything else if he was completely honest with himself. _Candles and Houses_ was the biggest one, and Daryl often made galas, auctions and charity dinners to raise founds. _Candles and Houses_ was engaged in founding several houses and safe places for children and mostly teenagers coming from families dealing with drugs and numerous addiction problems. It had been created to be and stay a safe place for children and teenagers fleeing from home and abuses without directly involving the police and the entire jurisdictional services at first. In the houses, social workers took care of them and made sure that going back home was safe for them, and if not (which often was the case), a free system was put in place to make sure that the kids were taken care of as long as it took for the family to be studied by social workers and if needed, placed in foster care. The system was successful because it never forced the kids into a juridicial system which scared them away just as fast, but it let them integrate the idea of a safe place and a safe future for them. Eventually, the teenagers decided to take the first steps into a real judicial system themselves without any pressure, and it was why it worked so well. Rick had read very diverse opinions on the charity, as many people argued that letting the kids go back to their families at first was dangerous, but the facts were there: since its creation, many kids had found their own way into safe foster families and it was a success. 

 

"Yes" replied Carol with a nod. " _Candles and Houses_ was created by Paul initially, but the idea was Daryl's. As Daryl was the one to pay for most of it, Paul decided to take back his name from the name of the society."

Rick frowned. "Why would he do that?" 

 

The question seemed to have hit a nerve, as Carol tensed almost imperceptibly. He wouldn't have seen the way she swallowed nervously if not for his training, as her face remained the same and her smile never left her lips. 

 

"It is not my story to tell" she replied simply. 

 

He did not push further, as she then started talking about the security system and how she had already contacted them to let them know that they would need to know who they were going to work with during the night. The fact that Carol had made the first move was easier for Rick, he would only have to brief the time before the night but they would already know what to look for and more importantly they would let him do his job without any problem. It wasn't always the case when it came to public security or public events, and Rick was grateful to the woman for her input. 

 

"Paul might not be mentioned in the charity" Carol kept going "but he's the one taking care of the foster houses. He selects them, and keeps an eye on the kids once they're safely placed in the families. Daryl and him work in tandem, really." 

 

As soon as Carol was done talking, Rick had a sudden idea. He knew it was never good to mix his job and his family life, but he might have an opportunity to make things right for his kids and his family life.

 

"He works with foster houses? Does he personally knows a social worker, maybe?" he asked, trying not to sound too interested, feeling his cheeks heat up a little bit. 

 

He knew he wouldn't get away with that question without an explanation when Carol's right brow twitched, and she looked up at him with eyes filled with curiosity. 

 

"Why?" she asked, smiling. "Do you need one?" 

 

He considered avoiding the question or lying, but he knew that answering was not directly interfering with his job, as soon as he didn't use the time he was supposed to spend with Daryl fixing his private life. 

 

"I might need a lawyer or a social worker specialized in that kind of case, yes" he sighed. 

"Is that for you? A colleague of yours, maybe?" asked Carol again. 

"For me. I'm having… troubles with my ex-wife." 

 

Carol looked even more interested after that, so he kept going. It had been a while since he had the opportunity to talk about his situation with someone who wasn't a lawyer, and Carol had already confessed a couple of things from her past, too. She might be Daryl's agent, but she was also a mother, and right now it was all Rick needed. 

 

"I have two children" he began, "Carl, he's around Sophia's age, and Judith. She's just a baby, and the problem is… well, she's not mine." 

 

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Carol gasp at the revelation, hiding her opened mouth behind her hand. 

 

"Around a year ago" he kept going, "I got shot and I spent a handful of months in a coma. When I woke up… well my wife was pregnant, and trust me… I did the maths. Judith isn't mine, but I love her just as much as Carl. The problem is that Lori, my ex-wife, she doesn't want me to see my kids. She says my job is too dangerous, and she's been refusing to let me take the kids for two weeks now. And when it comes to Judith, she doesn't even want me to see her, and she's asked for a paternity test because she now lives with the real father." 

 

He stopped and took a deep breath, trying very hard not to let his emotions take over. He ignored the lump in his throat and tapped his fingers lightly against the kitchen counter, in a steady but reassuring sound that he very much needed at the moment. He knew his mannerisms tended to annoy people -God knew how much Lori had told him that he needed to stop biting his nails and tap his fingers against the wood of the kitchen table, mostly when they were fighting for the hundredth time.

 

"That sound like an awful situation" said Carol after a short silence, putting her hand over Rick's on the table, stilling his fingers. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

 

He smiled up at her, still tense. 

 

"Do you think Paul would be able to help?" 

 

She hummed, thinking about it for a couple of seconds. 

 

"I think he might know some people, yes. It's worth asking him. Do you mind if I explain your situation to him and ask him myself? It might be simpler if he doesn't know who he's dealing with, you know. Because of this entire situation."

 

Automatically, Rick blushed. Why was he so unprofessional? The woman was seeing him for the first time this evening, and he was already asking her personal advices. 

 

"Oh, yes! Of course. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound…. well, unprofessional." 

"You are not" replied Carol immediately. "This isn't what I was implying. I only meant that maybe the situation would end up a little bit complicated for Paul, if he knew who he was asking for. Daryl… Well Paul is a close friend to Daryl. And he can be a stubborn son of a bitch, as you know, and it would only end up putting Paul in a uncomfortable position." 

  
Rick nodded. 

 

"I feel like there is more about Paul than what you and Daryl are telling me" he finally blurted out. 

 

He felt more than he saw Carol tense slightly, but she didn't reply. 

 

"Anyway" he kept going, as if he hadn't spoken a couple of seconds before. "Thank you, you know. For offering. I know you didn't have to." 

"It's alright, Rick. You look like a decent person, and I'd like to help if I can. I had so much troubles when it came to Sophia and Ed's parental rights, it's only fair to help you in return." 

 

He nodded his thank you and the woman finally let go of his hands, straightening her back and smiling at him. 

 

"Will that be all?" She asked.

"Yes" he replied automatically, nodding. "Thank you so much, Carol. This" he gestured to the papers on the table in front of them "will help me a lot for tomorrow night. And I will do everything in my power to stop this person and end this situation."

 

Carol smiled. 

 

"I have no doubts." 

-

 

As he had planned, Rick didn't stay with Carol, Sophia and Daryl for a long time after that. He spent a couple of minutes replying to the little girl's question, while Carol and Daryl were overlooking the next day's organisation. Sophia was adorable, she looked a little shy at first but Rick couldn't blame her even without knowing precisely what had happened to her a few years before. She had quickly warmed up though, and after a handful of minutes she was laughing at him while Rick did his best farm animals' impression. 

 

From the corner of his eyes he could see Daryl and Carol looking at him, and when Carol's gaze was amused, Daryl's was unreadable. For a person trained to read people, Rick had found Daryl very hard to analyse. When he had first arrived here and the day following, the atmosphere had been even worst than it was now, and it still wasn't joyful. Daryl had made it clear that he didn't want his help, but he had also made things difficult for him at first. Rick had learned by himself how Daryl's laundry machine worked, praying that he wouldn't break it. Afterwards, making food for himself had been complicated as well. Who would have thought that an oven could have so many settings? Everything that Daryl did (or did not, in that case) was made to destabilize him and push him to give up. But as he had told the man, he was himself very stubborn, and he couldn't help but feel proud when seeing Daryl's impress gaze every morning when Rick was still there.

 

If he had known the man a little better, he would have taken this situation for a big game. Maybe Daryl just wanted to push the bodyguard to its limit to see how he'd react, or maybe he was just testing him. He wouldn't know, as Daryl was way too complicated to read even now that he understood a couple of things more about his habits. He still didn't know what had pushed him to do this job, to create all these charities and most importantly to be such a reserved but savage person. He had noticed him flinching a couple of times too, when various parts of Rick's body brushed against his at night when they watched tv. Yet Daryl Dixon remained a mystery, and he was beginning to wonder if he'd ever totally solve it. 

 

Rick had known his fair share of disdainful people in years of working as a bodyguard. He had shrugged off critics, even insults, and never once blinked at them or thought about giving up even if the person he was at the time meant to protect was being a real dick. Which, if he thought about it, happened more than he had thought at first. But somehow, he found Daryl's silent treatment harder to work with. He was still walking on thin ice with him, and he knew that he couldn't play the toughest guy with the redneck because Daryl would only be more stubborn about the situation and make his job even harder. So he stayed as silent and discrete as he could, trying to work on this entire situation without being an overwhelming presence to the actor, and that was about all he could do at the moment. 

 

After playing with Sophia for a little while, he headed upstairs to grab his computer and started walking a little. He was too distracted by his conversation with Carol to truly work on the suspects properly, but he contacted Michonne and let her know about the charity dinner the night after. He sent her the video from the morning as well, and a couple of extra researches he had done in the morning. 

 

He knew he had to contact the security team in the morning, and make some extra researches before the dinner. He would also eventually have to make sure that the perimeter was safe, and that the guards at the entry would check everyone's IDs, even the waiters and employees working there. He needed everything to be perfectly safe. 

 

A sudden spike of anxiety shot through his whole body at the thought of Daryl being injured. He must have been very tired to think like this, but he really liked the guy. It was obvious that he was trying his best to do what was right in this situation, for his friends mostly, but he wasn't once thinking about himself. He had seen the way he played with Sophia, the way he smiled to Carol, Glenn and Maggie and how much he cared for them. He had rarely known people like Daryl in his life, and this might be why he was so fascinated by this persona (and why he was currently there, alone and without friends and family to really count on). 

  
Sighing, Rick decided to take a shower to clear his thoughts. He didn't know why he was so adamant to get Daryl to talk to him a little more. He wondered if he'd actually like the guy, if he wasn't so stubborn about giving him this silent treatment. Maybe they both were very different, and they wouldn't even like each other very much? Yet, Rick hadn't felt fascinated by someone like this in a long, long time. He remembered when he had first met Shane in high school, and how he used to look up to the man and flush when he first started talking to him. Shane was the captain of the soccer team, and Rick was… well, Rick was just another player that everyone forgot about. He remembered how Shane used to play,precise and passionate on the field. He was breathtaking, the first time Rick really noticed him, running around the field with a concentrated frown that twisted his sweaty brows. 

 

Later, when they became friends and Rick had introduced him to his girlfriend, they started talking more and growing even closer. Shane was always giving him advices on how to court Lori, how to take her to romantic dates and pick the movies when they went to the cinema. It wasn't that Rick wasn't interested, but he had always found difficult to catch a girl's attention and keep the passion in the relationship. If he really thought about it, even after they had gotten married he had always found it hard to please Lori. She always looked annoyed with his efforts, and boy did he try. He always turned to Shane eventually, and with a dry chuckle, realized that it was probably what led them to this present situation. Lori with Shane, and him alone, living in a man's house in which he wasn't even welcomed. 

 

He cut off the water, trying to think about something else for a change. Lately, all he could think about was his disastrous life. After getting dressed and shaving a little, he headed downstairs for dinner, only half surprised to find out that Carol and Sophia were staying late. Daryl and the girls were in the kitchen, the man cooking with a smiling kid seated on the kitchen counter next to him, while Carol looked at them with a soft smile. They finally noticed him, and with a warm feeling in his stomach, Rick realized that Daryl's smile diminished only a little when his gaze landed on him. 

 

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay there for a while, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh oh… looks like Rick isn’t really sure about where he stands when it comes to his relationships with men and women… but our poor boy doesn’t know (and won’t know) what it means until much later! 
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me guys. I really hope you liked this one. x


End file.
